WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.240 --> 00:00:06.280 It was a physical, palpable observation of people power. And 2 00:00:06.400 --> 00:00:09.120 so for me and a lot of people in my generation, 3 00:00:09.640 --> 00:00:12.399 you at that moment, I had no choice. I had 4 00:00:12.400 --> 00:00:14.320 to engage, I had to get involved. 5 00:00:18.520 --> 00:00:22.680 From futuro media, It's Latino Usa. I'm Maria no Josa today. 6 00:00:22.680 --> 00:00:35.839 A conversation with California's first Latino Senator, Alex Badiya. Alex 7 00:00:35.920 --> 00:00:39.279 Badilla might not have become a politician had it not 8 00:00:39.440 --> 00:00:42.360 been for anti immigrant hate in the state where he 9 00:00:42.479 --> 00:00:46.400 was born and raised by Mexican immigrant parents. But Badiya 10 00:00:46.600 --> 00:00:50.920 took that hatred and transformed it into action, and now 11 00:00:51.040 --> 00:00:56.280 Badiya is making history. On January twentieth, Vice President Kamala 12 00:00:56.320 --> 00:01:00.240 Harris swore Alex Badiya in to feel the vacancy she 13 00:01:00.360 --> 00:01:03.600 left in the Senate. That day, by the yea became 14 00:01:03.640 --> 00:01:07.640 the first Latino senator to represent California, a state that 15 00:01:07.760 --> 00:01:10.520 is home to nearly thirty percent of all of the 16 00:01:10.600 --> 00:01:19.160 Latinos and Latinas who live in the United States. Alex 17 00:01:19.200 --> 00:01:22.960 Badilla was born and raised in the working class, largely 18 00:01:23.120 --> 00:01:27.560 immigrant community of Pacoima, California, which is not far from 19 00:01:27.560 --> 00:01:31.120 Los Angeles. His mother was a housekeeper and his dad 20 00:01:31.200 --> 00:01:34.759 was a short bordered cook, both Mexican immigrants who arrived 21 00:01:34.800 --> 00:01:38.720 in the US in the nineteen sixties. After attending Los 22 00:01:38.760 --> 00:01:43.920 Angeles public schools, alex Badia earned a scholarship to attend MIT, 23 00:01:44.440 --> 00:01:48.960 where he studied to become an engineer. His future seemed clear, 24 00:01:49.560 --> 00:01:53.200 but in nineteen ninety four, the year he graduated from college, 25 00:01:53.520 --> 00:01:55.680 his life would take a different turn. 26 00:01:56.000 --> 00:01:59.400 California's Proposition one eighty seven attempts to solve the state's 27 00:01:59.440 --> 00:02:03.960 illegal ms immigration problem by denying services like education and 28 00:02:04.040 --> 00:02:06.880 non emergency healthcare to illegal immigrants. 29 00:02:06.920 --> 00:02:11.080 Proposition one eighty seven the very controversial one in California, 30 00:02:11.160 --> 00:02:13.919 which would virtually cut off all public services except the 31 00:02:13.960 --> 00:02:16.799 emergency medical care to illegal immigrants. 32 00:02:17.760 --> 00:02:21.720 Proposition one eighty seven, a measure that sought to prohibit 33 00:02:21.800 --> 00:02:27.200 undocumented immigrants from using healthcare, public education, and other services 34 00:02:27.200 --> 00:02:31.440 in California, was on the ballot by the YEP. Along 35 00:02:31.480 --> 00:02:35.880 with thousands of other young Latinos and Latinas in California 36 00:02:36.160 --> 00:02:39.399 rose up in protest. It was a moment which would 37 00:02:39.480 --> 00:02:42.839 drive by the YEPP and an entire generation of Latinos 38 00:02:43.280 --> 00:02:49.560 to run for public office. Only four years later, In 39 00:02:49.639 --> 00:02:52.080 nineteen ninety nine, by the v was elected to the 40 00:02:52.120 --> 00:02:56.040 Los Angeles City Council and then became its youngest and 41 00:02:56.200 --> 00:03:00.240 first Latino president. In two thousand and six, he won 42 00:03:00.320 --> 00:03:03.120 a seat in the state Senate, where he served for 43 00:03:03.160 --> 00:03:07.800 two terms until twenty fourteen. While in California's Senate, his 44 00:03:07.919 --> 00:03:12.680 focus included clean energy, voting rights, and increased access to 45 00:03:12.760 --> 00:03:18.200 higher education. In twenty fourteen, Badiya was elected Secretary of State, 46 00:03:18.639 --> 00:03:21.720 a role he kept until December of twenty twenty, when 47 00:03:21.760 --> 00:03:26.240 Governor Gavin Newsom appointed him to fill Kamala Harris's seat 48 00:03:26.280 --> 00:03:26.880 in the Senate. 49 00:03:27.760 --> 00:03:30.640 The chair lays before the Senate two certificates of election 50 00:03:30.960 --> 00:03:34.840 for the state of Georgia and a certificate of appointment 51 00:03:34.880 --> 00:03:39.440 to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of former 52 00:03:40.200 --> 00:03:45.920 Senator Kamala D. Harris of California. 53 00:03:48.080 --> 00:03:51.680 Today, in our extended conversation with Alex Badiya, we look 54 00:03:51.720 --> 00:03:55.320 at why, among other things, it's taken so long for 55 00:03:55.480 --> 00:04:01.360 Latino to represent California in the Senate. Senator Alex, Welcome 56 00:04:01.400 --> 00:04:02.400 to Latino, USA. 57 00:04:02.960 --> 00:04:04.240 Thank you so much for having me. 58 00:04:04.800 --> 00:04:05.760 So where are you right now? 59 00:04:05.800 --> 00:04:06.160 Actually? 60 00:04:06.320 --> 00:04:08.600 Can you just kind of tell me describe to me 61 00:04:09.240 --> 00:04:10.200 what you see around you. 62 00:04:10.280 --> 00:04:11.960 Where are you sure? 63 00:04:12.200 --> 00:04:16.440 I am sitting at my desk in the heart Senate 64 00:04:16.480 --> 00:04:20.880 Office building, and the space I'm sitting in was previously 65 00:04:20.960 --> 00:04:24.960 occupied by our now Vice President, Kamala Harris. So it's 66 00:04:25.440 --> 00:04:28.279 a tradition for California to be in the space. 67 00:04:29.400 --> 00:04:32.680 After what we've just lived through on January sixth, I 68 00:04:32.720 --> 00:04:35.799 have to ask you, so are you feeling safe? 69 00:04:36.160 --> 00:04:38.159 Do I feel safe? The answer is yes. 70 00:04:39.120 --> 00:04:42.800 I was not sworn in until January twentieth, so, like 71 00:04:42.880 --> 00:04:46.200 millions of Americans, I saw the events unfolding in real 72 00:04:46.240 --> 00:05:01.279 time on television from home in Los Angeles, and you 73 00:05:01.279 --> 00:05:03.800 can imagine the number of phone calls, a number of 74 00:05:03.800 --> 00:05:08.480 text messages they got from friends and family asking are 75 00:05:08.520 --> 00:05:10.920 you sure you want to do this? Knowing full well 76 00:05:10.960 --> 00:05:15.360 that there's people who do not like the fact that Latin, 77 00:05:15.400 --> 00:05:18.559 the first Latino to represent California and the United States Senate, 78 00:05:18.600 --> 00:05:21.680 proud son of immigrants, is sitting in this office and 79 00:05:21.800 --> 00:05:25.360 has an equal vote. You know, I think about it, 80 00:05:25.400 --> 00:05:27.080 but at the end of the day, my dad, there's 81 00:05:27.160 --> 00:05:31.840 two options. We either say, oh that's too much, I 82 00:05:31.880 --> 00:05:35.600 give up, I quit, I go home, or you know, 83 00:05:35.640 --> 00:05:39.320 I have the resolve, the strength of fortitude to say. 84 00:05:39.160 --> 00:05:40.880 No, We're not going to let them win. 85 00:05:41.839 --> 00:05:44.920 My experience in my family's journey is just representative of 86 00:05:45.160 --> 00:05:49.720 so many others, millions to throughout California, millions of families across 87 00:05:49.720 --> 00:05:54.360 the country. I have to be here for them. 88 00:05:54.400 --> 00:05:57.400 Well, Senator, I'm actually going to ask you if you 89 00:05:57.440 --> 00:06:00.880 wouldn't mind, if you can go back to the young 90 00:06:00.920 --> 00:06:04.920 person that you were in college when Prop one eighty 91 00:06:04.960 --> 00:06:09.000 seven was happening in California in the early nineteen nineties. 92 00:06:09.640 --> 00:06:13.039 I remember Proposition by eighty seven, you know, pretty damn well, 93 00:06:13.360 --> 00:06:16.560 and here's the stage for it. You know, growing up 94 00:06:16.640 --> 00:06:20.320 in Paquoima, California, you know, a proud working class community 95 00:06:20.360 --> 00:06:23.640 in the northeast San Fernando Valley, watching my father work 96 00:06:23.680 --> 00:06:27.520 what seemed like every single day as a cook, watching 97 00:06:27.560 --> 00:06:31.120 my mom were cleaning houses. Why it was important to 98 00:06:31.160 --> 00:06:33.000 them that my brother, my sister, and I get a 99 00:06:33.040 --> 00:06:35.560 good education. That was the key to a better future, 100 00:06:35.880 --> 00:06:38.080 you know, attending what many people would consider not the 101 00:06:38.080 --> 00:06:43.080 best of schools, earning admission to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 102 00:06:44.160 --> 00:06:46.960 and then I get home because I graduated from college 103 00:06:47.000 --> 00:06:51.359 in nineteen ninety four. So I get home that summer, 104 00:06:51.440 --> 00:06:54.560 trying to figure out my career path that fall, and 105 00:06:54.640 --> 00:06:59.240 what do I see on television? I see ads featuring 106 00:06:59.360 --> 00:07:06.080 the then governor of California basically saying California is going downhill, 107 00:07:06.560 --> 00:07:10.080 and it's the fault of families like yours, and it's 108 00:07:10.120 --> 00:07:11.960 the fault of people like your parents. 109 00:07:12.560 --> 00:07:16.440 They keep coming, two million illegal immigrants in California. 110 00:07:16.600 --> 00:07:19.240 The federal government won't stop them at the border, yet 111 00:07:19.320 --> 00:07:22.000 requires us to pay billions to take care of them. 112 00:07:22.600 --> 00:07:25.520 For people who were in California at the time, they 113 00:07:25.600 --> 00:07:28.520 remember the ads they keep coming, the grainy images of 114 00:07:29.240 --> 00:07:33.040 people crossing the border in San Diego, and just coming 115 00:07:33.040 --> 00:07:35.760 home from college, having earned my degree, paying tribute to 116 00:07:35.760 --> 00:07:39.720 my parents, their struggle, their sacrifices, their hard work. They're 117 00:07:39.760 --> 00:07:42.440 paying taxes and buying a home, trying to live the 118 00:07:42.480 --> 00:07:46.800 American dream, and they're being escapegoaded no way. And I'll 119 00:07:46.800 --> 00:07:49.640 tell you one of the moment that the light bulb 120 00:07:49.680 --> 00:07:53.360 went off in my mind. Participating in that historic march 121 00:07:53.800 --> 00:07:58.120 from the east side of Los Angeles Quadrupuntos to downtown 122 00:07:58.240 --> 00:08:05.840 Los Angeles, seeing hundreds of thousands of primary Latinos march 123 00:08:06.160 --> 00:08:15.760 against Prop One eighty seven. It was a physical, palpable 124 00:08:16.320 --> 00:08:20.520 observation of people power. And so for me and a 125 00:08:20.600 --> 00:08:24.080 lot of people in my generation that knew at that moment, 126 00:08:24.200 --> 00:08:27.080 I had no choice. I had to engage, I had 127 00:08:27.080 --> 00:08:30.080 to get involved. And that's how I turned from what 128 00:08:30.360 --> 00:08:35.640 might have been a lengthy engineering career to decades on 129 00:08:35.720 --> 00:08:39.440 career now in public service, registering voters, getting people to 130 00:08:39.440 --> 00:08:43.280 turn out and vote, volunteering on campaigns years before I 131 00:08:43.320 --> 00:08:44.320 ever ran for office. 132 00:08:45.000 --> 00:08:48.880 You should know that my own mother and sister in 133 00:08:49.000 --> 00:08:53.040 Chicago choose to become American citizens because of what was 134 00:08:53.080 --> 00:08:57.880 happening in California, because of Prop One eighty seven. 135 00:08:58.080 --> 00:09:01.400 And that moment changed me and many others of my generation, 136 00:09:02.120 --> 00:09:06.760 And it changed my parents and the millions of people 137 00:09:06.840 --> 00:09:10.120 like them who had come to United States in pursuit 138 00:09:10.160 --> 00:09:15.400 of the American dream with no urgency of becoming citizens. 139 00:09:15.920 --> 00:09:19.000 But it took a Prop One eight seven moment to 140 00:09:19.679 --> 00:09:23.520 have them realize they had to take the next step. 141 00:09:23.720 --> 00:09:26.040 If this is not just home, it's the future, you 142 00:09:26.120 --> 00:09:29.560 have to commit completely becoming citizens. And my parents are 143 00:09:29.640 --> 00:09:32.360 very clear it wasn't just to protect themselves from fear 144 00:09:32.360 --> 00:09:35.720 of deportation. It was so that they could register the 145 00:09:35.760 --> 00:09:38.959 vote and they could vote. And I knew the demographics 146 00:09:39.000 --> 00:09:42.280 and the trends of California at the time, but the 147 00:09:42.320 --> 00:09:45.040 reality of a lot of people like my parents not 148 00:09:45.160 --> 00:09:47.720 eligible to registered to vote, and maybe a lot of 149 00:09:47.720 --> 00:09:51.040 people like my friends eligible but not yet registered. And 150 00:09:51.120 --> 00:09:54.640 so we weren't realizing our political power at that time. 151 00:09:55.120 --> 00:09:58.360 And I knew that engaging in the political process we 152 00:09:58.400 --> 00:10:01.440 could move the needle. That's what we've seen happen over 153 00:10:01.440 --> 00:10:02.440 the last couple of decades. 154 00:10:02.960 --> 00:10:07.480 All right, So it's nineteen ninety nine. You became the 155 00:10:07.520 --> 00:10:11.559 youngest person to become the president of the La City 156 00:10:11.559 --> 00:10:14.080 Council in Los Angeles. 157 00:10:13.640 --> 00:10:15.920 History, and the first Latino, the first Latino. 158 00:10:16.559 --> 00:10:20.559 But you know there were people like Antonio Vierragosa, Gilselllo. 159 00:10:21.160 --> 00:10:24.640 It was a moment of a lot of hope for 160 00:10:24.880 --> 00:10:28.319 Latinos in politics in the state of California. And I'm 161 00:10:28.320 --> 00:10:31.440 wondering if you can take us to that moment of 162 00:10:31.520 --> 00:10:34.920 hope that was also coupled with your rage. 163 00:10:34.920 --> 00:10:39.040 Still yeah, no, And when I first ran for city council, 164 00:10:39.880 --> 00:10:42.600 you know, I was twenty five at the time. I 165 00:10:42.640 --> 00:10:44.640 decided to throw my hat in the ring. Of course, 166 00:10:44.640 --> 00:10:47.000 the first people I talked to is my family to 167 00:10:47.000 --> 00:10:48.480 get there, but I'm still living at home with my 168 00:10:48.520 --> 00:10:51.440 parents get their blessing. Then I went to go see 169 00:10:51.480 --> 00:10:54.320 my Paderno, one of my dad's brothers is my Patarino, 170 00:10:54.440 --> 00:10:57.600 to get his blessing. It tells me two words. It 171 00:10:57.640 --> 00:11:02.160 tells me ballegas. So for nine months I'm out there 172 00:11:02.200 --> 00:11:04.319 knocking out doors. I'm making the phone calls, we're putting 173 00:11:04.320 --> 00:11:06.920 the signs in the yards, the registering voters, and we're 174 00:11:07.200 --> 00:11:13.640 you know, seeking election. On election night, my Patherino had 175 00:11:13.640 --> 00:11:15.559 the flu, so he didn't come to the election night 176 00:11:15.600 --> 00:11:17.760 party where the votes were coming in and announced and 177 00:11:17.800 --> 00:11:19.920 we're celebrating. So I went to see him the next morning. 178 00:11:21.200 --> 00:11:25.400 Nino Nino gamos, we want we won, my pather you know, 179 00:11:26.679 --> 00:11:29.760 still very cool comic collected. All he tells me is 180 00:11:30.559 --> 00:11:37.080 fel awa I could complete. So he was all for 181 00:11:37.160 --> 00:11:40.240 acknowledging my first election to the city council. But he 182 00:11:40.360 --> 00:11:45.560 was also the first to remind me an election that 183 00:11:45.600 --> 00:11:48.240 doesn't help improve anybody's lives. It's what you do with 184 00:11:48.320 --> 00:11:51.600 the opportunity. So for all the things you ran on, 185 00:11:51.679 --> 00:11:53.360 all the things you promised, all the things you want 186 00:11:53.360 --> 00:11:56.160 to work on, time to get to work, time to deliver, 187 00:11:57.240 --> 00:12:01.280 and so I felt the responsibility to make sure that 188 00:12:01.320 --> 00:12:03.520 we did good because if I were to become Council 189 00:12:03.559 --> 00:12:06.840 president and screwed it up, it would have given people 190 00:12:06.920 --> 00:12:10.000 excuses to say, see, that's why we can't elevate Latinos 191 00:12:10.040 --> 00:12:12.560 to more significant leadership positions. 192 00:12:13.080 --> 00:12:16.680 We're going to fast forward to twenty fourteen, and that's 193 00:12:16.720 --> 00:12:20.600 when you're sworn in as California's first Latino Secretary of State. 194 00:12:21.000 --> 00:12:25.360 So during this time, actually the state of California adds 195 00:12:25.480 --> 00:12:28.600 more than four million voters. And this is a result 196 00:12:28.840 --> 00:12:33.079 of legislation that you backed that registers Californians to vote 197 00:12:33.200 --> 00:12:34.680 when they get their driver's license. 198 00:12:34.960 --> 00:12:38.520 Vote registration as a process, far too often in our 199 00:12:38.600 --> 00:12:44.120 nation's history, has served as a barrier to participation because 200 00:12:44.520 --> 00:12:47.160 the burden is on the citizen to register. 201 00:12:47.280 --> 00:12:48.959 And to vote. Well. 202 00:12:48.960 --> 00:12:51.760 Again, it kind of goes back to those observations during 203 00:12:51.800 --> 00:12:55.960 that march badly against Proposition of one eighty seven. I 204 00:12:56.040 --> 00:12:59.800 knew the power our community had that wasn't realized either, 205 00:12:59.840 --> 00:13:01.840 be because folks had not become citizens. 206 00:13:02.360 --> 00:13:04.760 A lot of people who are eligible were just not registered. 207 00:13:04.920 --> 00:13:07.520 So when I was sworn in a Secretary of State, 208 00:13:07.920 --> 00:13:10.440 Oregon beat us to the punch. California was the second 209 00:13:10.480 --> 00:13:12.720 state in the nation to adopt what we referred to 210 00:13:12.720 --> 00:13:16.640 as automatic voter registration. Now I was in a position 211 00:13:17.120 --> 00:13:21.280 to utilize the power and the resources of government to 212 00:13:21.440 --> 00:13:26.360 advance that. And flash forward to twenty twenty record registration 213 00:13:27.040 --> 00:13:32.240 record turnout, very very few issues and problems. 214 00:13:36.600 --> 00:13:40.880 Coming up on Latino USA. We asked Senator Bavilla about 215 00:13:41.000 --> 00:13:45.920 voter access and his track record on immigration. Stay with 216 00:13:46.000 --> 00:14:34.960 us not yes, Hey, we're back and we're going to 217 00:14:35.000 --> 00:14:38.600 continue our conversation with Alex by the Yeah, the first 218 00:14:38.800 --> 00:14:42.520 Latino to represent the state of California in the US Senate. 219 00:14:44.800 --> 00:14:46.840 Let's talk about where you are right now, which is 220 00:14:46.840 --> 00:14:51.360 in the Senate. You are appointed to your position. 221 00:14:51.920 --> 00:14:55.000 Can you imagine what the mom would be thinking now 222 00:14:55.040 --> 00:14:56.440 as I ask you if you want to be the 223 00:14:56.480 --> 00:14:59.640 next US Center of the United States, the great state 224 00:14:59.680 --> 00:15:05.760 of col You serious, this is the official, this is 225 00:15:05.800 --> 00:15:12.320 the ass brother, I'm honored, man, and I'm mumbled. Can 226 00:15:12.440 --> 00:15:16.200 tell you how many pancakes my dad flipped or legacy 227 00:15:16.320 --> 00:15:20.800 scrambled trying to provide for us or into the many 228 00:15:20.800 --> 00:15:23.080 many years of my mom cleaning house doing the same 229 00:15:23.160 --> 00:15:27.640 thing you want to You got to say yes, though, uh, absolutely, 230 00:15:27.960 --> 00:15:29.240 absolutely so. 231 00:15:29.440 --> 00:15:33.640 In two thousand and nine, Gavin Newsom was the mayor 232 00:15:33.680 --> 00:15:36.720 of San Francisco and he names you as the chairman 233 00:15:36.760 --> 00:15:40.880 of his campaign for governor. And then when Newsom runs again, 234 00:15:41.640 --> 00:15:45.440 you actually endorse him over your old buddy Los Angeles 235 00:15:45.480 --> 00:15:49.400 Mayor Antonio Vierragosa, And there was a lot of criticism 236 00:15:49.480 --> 00:15:53.960 around that at this point, as you know, the criticism 237 00:15:54.240 --> 00:15:57.240 for you being put into this position held by Kamala Harris, 238 00:15:57.320 --> 00:15:59.800 is that there was a moment for black women in 239 00:15:59.840 --> 00:16:03.720 this country. I mean an extraordinary moment for black women. Frankly, 240 00:16:04.080 --> 00:16:07.200 you know, had it not been for black women mobilizing 241 00:16:07.320 --> 00:16:10.960 voters across the country, maybe Donald Trump would still be president. 242 00:16:11.560 --> 00:16:15.000 And so there was a concern about, you know, this 243 00:16:15.120 --> 00:16:19.400 seat not going to another African American woman. San Francisco 244 00:16:19.440 --> 00:16:21.600 Mayor London Breed said it was a real blow to 245 00:16:21.640 --> 00:16:25.520 the African American community. And there's a lot of conversation 246 00:16:25.680 --> 00:16:30.640 right now about how do Latino support African Americans and 247 00:16:30.720 --> 00:16:34.520 the movement for Black lives And I'm wondering your thoughts 248 00:16:34.520 --> 00:16:37.600 specifically about kind of the blowback that you had to 249 00:16:37.640 --> 00:16:40.480 go through and how you think about that question of 250 00:16:40.560 --> 00:16:43.840 allyeship between African Americans and Latinos. 251 00:16:44.360 --> 00:16:46.120 Yeah, no, look, I appreciate the question. 252 00:16:46.520 --> 00:16:51.960 I agree we need more black women voices in all 253 00:16:52.160 --> 00:16:55.520 levels of leadership, including the United States Senate, and I'm 254 00:16:55.520 --> 00:17:00.920 a committed partner in that. You know, Number two, more 255 00:17:01.080 --> 00:17:05.320 Latino voices in all levels of leadership. And California's population 256 00:17:05.400 --> 00:17:09.000 is nearly forty percent Latino has never had a Latino 257 00:17:09.080 --> 00:17:12.439 representative in the United States Senate. If you look at 258 00:17:12.440 --> 00:17:16.520 California's collective leadership or two United States Senators, all the 259 00:17:16.560 --> 00:17:20.840 constitutional officers, even the legislative leaders, the Speaker of the Assembly, 260 00:17:20.960 --> 00:17:24.800 the ProTem of the Senate, it does reflect California's diversity. 261 00:17:24.840 --> 00:17:28.240 I wish every state in the nation could say that. 262 00:17:28.400 --> 00:17:30.840 And so, you know, we have to look at multiple 263 00:17:30.880 --> 00:17:33.879 opportunities across the country to elevate the black community and 264 00:17:33.920 --> 00:17:39.440 black women in particular. Before the governor announced his appointment, 265 00:17:39.800 --> 00:17:42.280 there were several people under consideration. There was a lot 266 00:17:42.280 --> 00:17:47.040 of conversation about potentially Congressman Barber Lely, potentially congress Member 267 00:17:48.040 --> 00:17:51.240 Karen Vass, both of whom I've known for years and 268 00:17:51.440 --> 00:17:55.840 we had talked about Look, if it's you, I'm all 269 00:17:55.880 --> 00:18:00.439 in with you immediately on day one, because if you're selected, 270 00:18:00.480 --> 00:18:03.200 we need you to be as successful as possible, because 271 00:18:03.200 --> 00:18:04.800 that's how we help California. 272 00:18:04.920 --> 00:18:05.119 You know. 273 00:18:05.160 --> 00:18:07.800 I share that with Congress Memberly, I share that with 274 00:18:08.840 --> 00:18:11.800 Congress bast and they shared the same with me. So 275 00:18:11.840 --> 00:18:16.200 you talk about the relationship, building the ally ship and 276 00:18:16.240 --> 00:18:20.000 how we help each other, you know, build political power 277 00:18:20.000 --> 00:18:24.560 and influence policy. It's making sure that those relationships are 278 00:18:24.600 --> 00:18:27.240 built and then stay tight at what can be a 279 00:18:27.320 --> 00:18:30.840 trying moment for the general public when it looks like 280 00:18:30.920 --> 00:18:33.119 it's an either or a question, and it shouldn't be 281 00:18:33.160 --> 00:18:34.159 an either or a question. 282 00:18:35.440 --> 00:18:39.960 Considering the power of Latino and Latina voters in the 283 00:18:40.000 --> 00:18:43.680 state of California, there is a question as to why 284 00:18:44.080 --> 00:18:47.919 it's December of twenty twenty when you become the first 285 00:18:47.960 --> 00:18:52.280 Latino to represent California in the US Senate, And I'm wondering, 286 00:18:52.600 --> 00:18:55.000 why do you think it's taken this long to have 287 00:18:55.040 --> 00:18:58.960 a Latino representing California. We're thirty person of Latinos and 288 00:18:59.040 --> 00:19:02.480 Latinas in this country live in the US Senate. And 289 00:19:02.520 --> 00:19:04.800 do you believe you know when you are up for 290 00:19:04.840 --> 00:19:10.840 reelection or for election, I mean, will the Latino Latina 291 00:19:10.920 --> 00:19:12.399 voters be mobilized to come out for you. 292 00:19:13.800 --> 00:19:16.760 That's a big question. Is probably multiple reasons for why 293 00:19:17.520 --> 00:19:19.879 it took as long as it did. It was in 294 00:19:19.920 --> 00:19:23.359 twenty fourteen that I was elected California Secretary of State 295 00:19:23.760 --> 00:19:28.199 twenty fourteen, just seven years ago. Lessen that I was 296 00:19:29.000 --> 00:19:32.520 at that point only the second Latino elected to any 297 00:19:32.680 --> 00:19:38.600 statewide office in the history of California, the first being 298 00:19:38.680 --> 00:19:42.880 Cruz Bustamante, who was elected Lieutenant governor in nineteen ninety 299 00:19:42.920 --> 00:19:45.480 eight and went on to serve two terms. And I'm 300 00:19:45.520 --> 00:19:49.480 only the second in the entire history of the state 301 00:19:49.600 --> 00:19:53.679 of California. So why did it take so long? In 302 00:19:53.720 --> 00:19:55.840 many ways, you go back to the one eighty seventh 303 00:19:55.880 --> 00:20:00.159 experience and what it did to mobilize to catalyze so 304 00:20:00.200 --> 00:20:04.840 many people of my generation to get engaged number one, 305 00:20:04.920 --> 00:20:08.360 my parents' generation, to become citizens and then voters number two, 306 00:20:08.400 --> 00:20:13.639 to significantly change what the electorate even looks like in California. 307 00:20:14.200 --> 00:20:17.119 So maybe the decade of the nineties, it's what mobilized us. 308 00:20:17.119 --> 00:20:19.720 In the year two thousands is when we started to 309 00:20:19.720 --> 00:20:22.760 see change, you know, So it's just the beginning. 310 00:20:23.520 --> 00:20:28.760 A lot of people don't realize thirty percent of Latinos 311 00:20:28.760 --> 00:20:31.040 in the United States live in the state of California. 312 00:20:32.000 --> 00:20:35.960 You're pushing for voter access and registration, but you're having 313 00:20:36.000 --> 00:20:38.960 a large part of the population, the second largest voting 314 00:20:38.960 --> 00:20:42.560 block in the United States, Latinos and Latinas who are saying, 315 00:20:44.320 --> 00:20:49.399 we're not feeling seen yet again, So what do you 316 00:20:49.440 --> 00:20:50.159 do with this moment? 317 00:20:51.480 --> 00:20:55.560 We stand up, We speak up in the context also 318 00:20:55.760 --> 00:20:58.080 of how do we advance some of the changes to 319 00:20:58.119 --> 00:21:03.679 immigration policy and law that's long overdue, So, you know, 320 00:21:03.720 --> 00:21:05.399 we go to the border and acknowledge it for what 321 00:21:05.480 --> 00:21:09.320 it is. These are a lot of unaccompanied minor it's 322 00:21:09.359 --> 00:21:14.960 families seeking asylum. Right, let's recognize why they are coming 323 00:21:15.000 --> 00:21:18.159 here to the United States. Yes, it's in pursuit, like 324 00:21:18.200 --> 00:21:21.680 my parents, of a better future, opportunity, the American dream. 325 00:21:21.800 --> 00:21:25.760 But they're fleeing hometowns that have either been devastated by 326 00:21:25.840 --> 00:21:31.400 natural disasters, poverty, violence, threats against their life. They're literally 327 00:21:31.440 --> 00:21:34.400 fleeing for their lives. They have to be recognized and 328 00:21:34.560 --> 00:21:37.399 treated as such. Part of what we're seeing at the 329 00:21:37.400 --> 00:21:41.240 border is frankly the results of the prior administration, starving 330 00:21:41.280 --> 00:21:44.520 the very agencies that are supposed to do the job 331 00:21:44.600 --> 00:21:47.520 of intake and processing. You know, we need to keep 332 00:21:47.560 --> 00:21:50.159 the time and attention to a minimum and improve the 333 00:21:50.200 --> 00:21:55.520 conditions of that detention. But I also remind my colleagues, 334 00:21:55.560 --> 00:22:00.399 both Republican and Democrats, that well, we need to address 335 00:22:00.400 --> 00:22:04.399 and the whole administration accountable. We cannot let that be 336 00:22:04.840 --> 00:22:08.280 the reason we don't move towards justice for the more 337 00:22:08.280 --> 00:22:13.680 than eleven million immigrants who are undocumented that are already here, 338 00:22:13.840 --> 00:22:17.560 have been living here, mostly working here, paying taxes here, 339 00:22:18.000 --> 00:22:21.920 and in my opinion, have earned security and a pathway 340 00:22:22.000 --> 00:22:25.359 to citizenship. And it's in that second group, the people 341 00:22:25.400 --> 00:22:29.560 that are already here given the urgency of the COVID pandemic, 342 00:22:29.560 --> 00:22:32.280 and we've seen both the health and the economic impacts 343 00:22:32.280 --> 00:22:35.720 of COVID that inspired my first bill as a United 344 00:22:35.760 --> 00:22:40.240 States Senator, the Citizenship for Essential Workers Act, which would 345 00:22:40.280 --> 00:22:45.879 provide a well earned pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants 346 00:22:46.160 --> 00:22:51.240 who have risked their health as essential workers. We cannot 347 00:22:51.240 --> 00:22:55.120 in good conscience praise them as essential workers in one 348 00:22:55.160 --> 00:23:00.880 breath while denying them the essential human dig they deserve. 349 00:23:01.200 --> 00:23:06.160 What the next The federal government has acknowledged essential workers, 350 00:23:06.160 --> 00:23:08.400 people that have been on the front lines in healthcare 351 00:23:08.480 --> 00:23:12.280 and construction and transportation and agriculture. A lot of people 352 00:23:12.280 --> 00:23:15.680 are shocked to hear that more than five million federally 353 00:23:15.720 --> 00:23:20.680 recognized essential workers are undocumented immigrants, you know, but they've 354 00:23:20.680 --> 00:23:23.639 been serving the rest of us. They've been sacrificing, risking 355 00:23:23.640 --> 00:23:25.800 their health in their lives to keep the rest of 356 00:23:25.880 --> 00:23:28.960 us safe and to keep the economy moving. In my opinion, 357 00:23:29.200 --> 00:23:33.520 they've earned security and a pathway to citizenship. 358 00:23:34.800 --> 00:23:37.119 As a senator, you did sponsor this bill that is 359 00:23:37.160 --> 00:23:42.840 pretty extraordinary, specifically granting essential workers a path to citizenship. 360 00:23:43.359 --> 00:23:45.520 But you know, the criticism is that in your eight 361 00:23:45.600 --> 00:23:49.640 years as a state senator from California, you weren't known 362 00:23:49.760 --> 00:23:54.040 for really sponsoring any immigration legislation. And so what's that 363 00:23:54.080 --> 00:23:56.640 turn about, since immigration was a central part of your 364 00:23:57.200 --> 00:23:59.840 kind of jumping into politics, but you didn't do anything 365 00:24:00.200 --> 00:24:03.960 specifically in your eight years as a California state senator. 366 00:24:04.280 --> 00:24:07.879 Yeah, well, I think it's a pretty straightforward answer. You know, 367 00:24:07.960 --> 00:24:11.840 immigration policy is clearly the priview of the federal government. 368 00:24:12.960 --> 00:24:15.680 Not state government doesn't mean I didn't use my platform 369 00:24:15.760 --> 00:24:19.200 as a state official to speak up about issues, whether 370 00:24:19.200 --> 00:24:21.960 it was the need for immigration reform. Plenty of resolutions 371 00:24:22.400 --> 00:24:26.320 passed in defense of dreamers, you know, when DACCA was 372 00:24:26.359 --> 00:24:31.280 first proposed and then when Trump sought to take it away. 373 00:24:31.560 --> 00:24:35.560 We do have a long track record of advocacy on 374 00:24:35.680 --> 00:24:39.760 behalf of smarter immigration policy and supporting immigrant families and 375 00:24:39.760 --> 00:24:42.399 immigrant communities. And I'm just blessed now to be in 376 00:24:42.400 --> 00:24:47.600 a position to advance formal changes to those policies and 377 00:24:47.640 --> 00:24:51.439 those laws by introducing bills and working to line up 378 00:24:51.440 --> 00:24:53.119 the votes in the United States Senate. 379 00:24:53.640 --> 00:24:56.040 Given that you have spent so much time in your 380 00:24:56.119 --> 00:25:01.280 career Senator to the issue of voting rights, voting access. 381 00:25:02.080 --> 00:25:04.600 So I'm wondering what happens when you see Governor Brian 382 00:25:04.680 --> 00:25:10.760 Kemp of Georgia signing into state law really a series 383 00:25:10.800 --> 00:25:12.840 of attacks on voting rights. 384 00:25:13.240 --> 00:25:17.720 Georgia's Republican governor Brian camp has signed a sweeping elections 385 00:25:17.760 --> 00:25:20.439 bill that civil rights groups are blasting as the worst 386 00:25:20.520 --> 00:25:24.280 voter suppression legislation since the Jim Crow era. This comes 387 00:25:24.400 --> 00:25:28.520 just months after Democrats won two Senate seats in Georgia. 388 00:25:28.600 --> 00:25:29.440 It's enraging. 389 00:25:30.040 --> 00:25:32.960 The Latino community today would not be where we are 390 00:25:32.960 --> 00:25:39.200 politically if it wasn't for the Civil rights movement and 391 00:25:39.640 --> 00:25:42.959 after years and years of struggle and sacrifice, the passage 392 00:25:43.000 --> 00:25:45.640 of the Voting Rights Tact in nineteen sixty five. It's 393 00:25:45.760 --> 00:25:49.600 very same laws that helped protect our voting rights, which 394 00:25:49.640 --> 00:25:54.280 sadly was significantly undone by the Shelby Beholder decision by 395 00:25:54.320 --> 00:25:58.800 the Supreme Court in twenty thirteen, also helped create the 396 00:25:58.920 --> 00:26:02.439 opportunity for the you those to register and influence the 397 00:26:02.480 --> 00:26:06.440 electric run for office, run for office successfully, and build 398 00:26:06.800 --> 00:26:09.400 the political power that we have been over the last 399 00:26:09.440 --> 00:26:12.720 several decades. So it ties back to that ally ship 400 00:26:12.960 --> 00:26:17.640 and coalition building that we referenced earlier in the conversation. 401 00:26:18.320 --> 00:26:20.560